Journalism Portfolio

“There is a trajectory and clear development from early works by Raukura that depict the body. The prominent textural works for which Raukura has become widely known feel like an abstraction through the application of whenua and pattern. A lot of the ideas around motherhood, wahinetanga, whenua, connection, ritual and mundane rites come together in Raukura’s most recent collaborative moving image works UKURANGI and ŪKAIPŌ. I am grounded by the image of the māmā/artist and her pēpē – their bodies adorned in kōkōwai, and the seeping of waiū into the whenua and the skin. The image presented in these works feels like it is in conversation with the future – offering suggestions of hope and new growth. It also feels like it is speaking to matriarchal lineages in Raukura’s whakapapa in a way that is perhaps relatable for all wāhine Māori. I see you, I hear you, we’re not so different. And we survived.”

-Kahu Kutia in Takoto Ai Te Marino

“Te Haukāinga continues the legacy of The Depot, Taki Rua’s original theatre space on Alpha Street, just off Courtenay Place. In the 1980s and 1990s, The Taki Rua Depot was home to Wellington’s Māori and Pacific theatre scene, as well as the city’s dance, and Gay and Lesbian theatre, communities. Even Fat Freddy’s Drop had some of their first rehearsals there. The Taki Rua Depot closed in 1997 and Taki Rua became an independent production company, leaving the Māori and Pacific theatre communities without a place to hold their mahi that was their own.”

-Kahu Kutia in Build Your Own Whare: The Voices of Te Haukāinga